Formation
Before 1526 CE, a settlement called Banten was situated not on the coast, but about ten kilometers inland on the Cibanten River, in the area which is today occupied by the southern suburbs of the town of Serang. It was known as Banten Girang, meaning “Banten-up-the-river" owing to its location.
Sunan Gunungjati (Sharif Hidayatullah) was an "ulama", an educated class of Muslim legal scholars. He was originally educated in Middle East, and can trace his ancestry to the kingdom of Sunda. Sharif Hidayatullah become the Sultan of Cirebon in 1479. In 1482 Sharif Hidayatullah sent a letter to King of Sunda, proclaiming Cirebon independence from Sunda Pajajaran. Previously Cirebon settlement was founded in 1445 by his uncle Prince Cakrabuana. In the early 16th century, Gunungjati arrived in the town with the intention of spreading the word of Islam in this still-Hindu area.
According to Suma Oriental, written in 1512-1515, Tomé Pires, a Portuguese explorer report that the port of Banten was still belongs to the Kingdom of Sunda, while Cirebon has been established as an Islamic state.
First the king of Çumda (Sunda) with his great city of Dayo, the town and lands and port of Bantam (Banten), the port of Pomdam (Pontang), the port of Cheguide (Cigede), the port of Tamgaram (Tangerang), the port of Calapa (Kelapa), and the port of Chemano (Chi Manuk or Cimanuk), this is Sunda, because the river of Chi Manuk is the limit of both kingdoms. Now comes Java and we must speak of the kings within the hinterland. The land of Cheroboam (Cherimon), the land of Japura, the land of Locarj (Losari), the land of Tateguall (Tegal), the land of Camaram (Semarang), the land of Demaa (Demak)...
Although at first well received by Sunda authorities, after news of the Portuguese-Sunda alliance in 1522 became known, Gunungjati nevertheless asked Demak sultanate to send troops to Banten. It was likely his son, Hasanudin, who commanded this military operation in 1527, just as the Portuguese fleet was arriving of the coast at Sunda Kelapa, to capture these towns.
Sunan Gunungjati had Hasanudin named king of Banten by the Sultan of Demak who, in turn, offered Hasanudin his sister’s hand in marriage. Thus a new dynasty was born at the same time as a new kingdom was created. Banten was the capital of this kingdom, held as a province under Sultanate of Cirebon.
Read more about this topic: Sultanate Of Banten
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